Access to nancial support and business success: A study of small and medium enterprises in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

This paper discusses access to financial support and business success of small and medium enterprises in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana, given the current emphasis on local content in the oil and gas sector. Using a descriptive survey design, interview schedules were adopted to collect data from 303 enterprises that were selected from a list of 1547 provided by the Business Advisory Centre of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI). Checklists were also used to elicit qualitative information from 21 support institutions. Descriptive statistics, supported with chi-square analysis were used to examine the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were mostly categorized. The evidence showed that enterprises that had accessed financial support also received training from the support institutions were relatively more successful than those who had not accessed support. Those businesses that could not access support and were not successful were advised to open business accounts separate from owners’ accounts with banks and learn about the support systems. It was suggested that the NBSSI should create a database of support institutions, which in turn, should make it easier for the enterprises to access their services.